Theresa May plans a snap general election: “The country is coming together but Westminster is not”

Mrs. May said: I have concluded the only way to guarantee certainty and security for years ahead is to hold this election.

Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn said elections would give the British people the chance to vote for a government that will put the interests of the majority first.Scotland's First Minister Ms Sturgeon accused Conservatives of seeing a chance to move the UK to the right, force through a hard Brexit and impose deeper cutsLib Dem leader Tim Farron tweeted: This is your chance to change the direction of your country. If you want to avoid a disastrous hard Brexit.

United Kingdom Prime Minister Theresa May has announced plans to call a snap general election on 8 June. She said Britain needed certainty, stability and strong leadership following the EU referendum, and supporting her decision, said: “The country is coming together but Westminster is not.”

There will be a Commons vote on the proposed election on Wednesday - Labour have said they will vote with the government.

The prime minister needs Parliament's backing to hold a vote before the next scheduled date of 2020. Explaining her change of heart on an early election, Mrs. May said: I have concluded the only way to guarantee certainty and security for years ahead is to hold this election.

She accused Britain's other political parties of game playing, adding that this risks our ability to make a success of Brexit and it will cause damaging uncertainty and instability to the country.

So we need a general election and we need one now. We have at this moment a one off chance to get this done.

I have only recently and reluctantly come to this conclusion. Since I became prime minister I've said there should be no election until 2020, but now I have concluded that the only way to guarantee certainty and security for the years ahead is to hold this election and seek your support for the decisions we must take.

In a statement outside Number 10, Mrs May said Labour had threatened to vote against the final Brexit agreement, the Liberal Democrats had stated they wanted to grind the business of government to a standstill, the SNP have said they would vote against the legislation that formally repeals Britain's membership of the EU - and unelected members of the House of Lords had vowed to fight us every step of the way.

If we don't hold a general election now, their political game-playing will continue and the negotiations with the European Union will reach their most difficult stage in the run up to the next general election, she said.

The PM challenged the opposition parties: This is your moment to show you mean it - to show you're not opposing the government for the sake of it, to show that you do not treat politics as a game.

Let's tomorrow vote for an election - let's put forward our plans for Brexit and our alternative programs for government and then let the people decide.

Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn said he welcomed the prime minister's decision, saying it would give the British people the chance to vote for a government that will put the interests of the majority first.

He said: Labour will be offering the country an effective alternative to a government that has failed to rebuild the economy, delivered falling living standards and damaging cuts to our schools and NHS.

In the last couple of weeks, Labour has set out policies that offer a clear and credible choice for the country. We look forward to showing how Labour will stand up for the people of Britain.

Scotland's First Minister Nicola Sturgeon accused the Conservatives of seeing a chance to move the UK to the right, force through a hard Brexit and impose deeper cuts, adding: Let's stand up for Scotland.

In his response to Mrs May's announcement, Lib Dem leader Tim Farron tweeted: This is your chance to change the direction of your country. If you want to avoid a disastrous hard Brexit. If you want to keep Britain in the single market. If you want a Britain that is open, tolerant and united, this is your chance. Only the Liberal Democrats can prevent a Conservative majority.”

Top Comments

Nostrils...Except the Scots don't want to leave the UK....Fail! This election will see the Nats punished. Tories being elected in Scotland!

There's no dilemma, the majority know exactly where we are going, onwards and upwards.

Unemployment here is 0.25%, people get off their backsides and graft. Incomes are up, unemployment is falling, low paid people pay less tax, the economy is expanding, new council houses under construction. Workshy scroungers and fake disability claimants are getting found out, they don't even turn up to interviews any more. That's the way the deficit will get fixed. It's going to be a landslide.

Apr 19th, 2017 - 07:34 pm +3

ElaineB

@ TTT

That does not define unstable. What TM is doing is perfectly legal. Having taken over as PM when Cameron resigned it is probably a good move to test her backing by the British people in a General Election. John Major did much the same thing to silence critics when he took the reins from MT.

Let me help you understand a little of the reasoning behind it. We are now fully engaged in the Brexit era of negotiating our leaving Europe. It is better to test public opinion now rather than have anything that might undermine the stability of the government and weaken our position. People now have the right to confirm they support TM's vision of Brexit and her ability to act in our best interests. Remember, she became PM because Cameron resigned and has not yet been tested in a General Election and that could be exploited during the negotiations.

For from causing instability it is doing the opposite. Sorry to spoil your wet dream but no one here is being fooled.

As for Scotland, I very much doubt your view of the situation. Don't get too excited.

Apr 19th, 2017 - 08:23 pm +3

Martin Woodhead

what country does she think shes leading Brexit has split the country and its showing no signs of uniting at all I hate the goverment and would do nothing to support ever.